The White Dog Research/Collective MDF Hive Mind

[peetie44]

Patchez...

This site may be of interest, as it has a few links to some current white whiskey/spirit distillers:

http://www.ellenjaye.com/wh_index.htm

[Patchez]

Peetie that is a great site. The Copper Fox Distillery is the one that makes the Wasmund's Single Malt and Rye Raw spirit that I have. I will have to hit those links latter for further studies. The website author also seems to know what they are talking about without all the frat boy hype. They seem to be looking at if for the sake of enjoying the spirits as our great grandfathers did.

As a side note, I'm proud to be of PA Dutch decent and a little Scot thrown in on my one Grandmothers side. I didn't realize the PA Dutch were so big on the whole rye whisky thing. This bears more research.

[Patchez]

Research results in first find. Dad's Hat Rye. Philly distilled. Seems to be 100 proof on the white and 90 on the aged. Only glanced at three pages of the website but there seemed very little frat boy hype. Just an earnestness to make good rye like his Dad favored at the old family tavern. I will find some and try it.

http://dadshatrye.com/

[peetie44]

Research results in first find. Dad's Hat Rye. Philly distilled. Seems to be 100 proof on the white and 90 on the aged. Only glanced at three pages of the website but there seemed very little frat boy hype. Just an earnestness to make good rye like his Dad favored at the old family tavern. I will find some and try it.

http://dadshatrye.com/

There you go. A decent, straightforward website without all the BS posturing. No old guy in a straw hat and overalls posing as some hillbilly pappy, no ridiculous name like Death's Door, no faux-earthenware jug with a bunch of XXX's all over it and -- especially -- NO weak-assed 40% abv fake moonshine. However, at an average internet price of @$50 (for the 90 proof aged rye), it isn't exactly cheap.

[The Limey]

A good thread. And i'm not surprised about the Wasmund's. Their whisky (malt whisky) is as bad as it gets tbh, rough isn't the word as it's smooth enough, it just tastes like shit, no surprise on the white dog version, varnish would be about right. Rye is usually pretty good when young, and anyone can make a decent rye.

[peetie44]

A good thread. And i'm not surprised about the Wasmund's. Their whisky (malt whisky) is as bad as it gets tbh, rough isn't the word as it's smooth enough, it just tastes like shit, no surprise on the white dog version, varnish would be about right. Rye is usually pretty good when young, and anyone can make a decent rye.

With due respect to Patchez, who started this thread, I believe the idea of a white whiskey thread is to identify and review, hopefully through tasting, the best distillers/purveyors of un-aged grain spirits. To my way of thinking, and I believe Patchez would agree for the most part, a good un-aged white whiskey should be high proof (at least 50% abv/100 proof and up) and, since white whiskey costs less to make because it cuts out the added $$ of cooperage/aging/storage, it should be reasonably priced. It's not gonna taste smooth and mellow -- that's for sure -- but it should give those who drink it straight a rough (sorry) idea of what good quality illegal whiskey (moonshine) tastes like. And the higher-proof stuff (60% abv/120 proof and up) should test the creativity of cocktail makers and give them an alternative to other high-proof white spirits. We're also trying to provide info on who is offering up the real deal at a fair price, like Heaven's Hill, Buffalo Trace and Wasmund's are, and who is jumping on the "legal moonshine" bandwagon and are simply looking to rip people off with overhyped, overpriced, under-proof swill.

[The Limey]

A good thread. And i'm not surprised about the Wasmund's. Their whisky (malt whisky) is as bad as it gets tbh, rough isn't the word as it's smooth enough, it just tastes like shit, no surprise on the white dog version, varnish would be about right. Rye is usually pretty good when young, and anyone can make a decent rye.

With due respect to Patchez, who started this thread, I believe the idea of a white whiskey thread is to identify and review, hopefully through tasting, the best distillers/purveyors of un-aged grain spirits. To my way of thinking, and I believe Patchez would agree for the most part, a good un-aged white whiskey should be high proof (at least 50% abv/100 proof and up) and, since white whiskey costs less to make because it cuts out the added $$ of cooperage/aging/storage, it should be reasonably priced. It's not gonna taste smooth and mellow -- that's for sure -- but it should give those who drink it straight a rough (sorry) idea of what good quality illegal whiskey (moonshine) tastes like. And the higher-proof stuff (60% abv/120 proof and up) should test the creativity of cocktail makers and give them an alternative to other high-proof white spirits. We're also trying to provide info on who is offering up the real deal at a fair price, like Heaven's Hill, Buffalo Trace and Wasmund's are, and who is jumping on the "legal moonshine" bandwagon and are simply looking to rip people off with overhyped, overpriced, under-proof swill.

Thanks for the clarification Peetie. I was just drawing attention to Wasmund's poorly made malt spirit, and although i haven't tried it i have tried a couple of their whisky batches, and i'm not surprised he preferred their Rye. S'all. Not all white dogs are the same, i haven't tried a patent or continuous still white spirit (one that is destined to be a whisky) but i have tired a whole bunch of Scottish pot still varieties, and some are surprisingly well rounded from the get go. The larger the still the more 'friendly' the spirit will be, the closest to moonshine will be from a pot still of small size, i would think. There is one available here in the UK but it's very hard to get hold of, made by a hotel owner in Scotland.

[zimne_piwo]

I've been running a still for about ten years now, and I've made my share of moonshine. At first I went with white sugar and turbo yeast and wound up with something very much like Georgia Moon. No cuts, cheap and fast, total crap. After running that through my liver for a couple years I gave up on making crap and went back to buying Beam. A few years later I reapproached the craft with an eye for quality. I tried making a version of bourbon but it sucked. Then I found a really fucking good recipe for rum.

This is pretty damn good stuff. I didn't really LIKE whiskey all that much to begin with. As I read about the history of whiskey, it's essentially the story of making the best of a bad situation. Grain is cheap and it's all we have, so that's what we work with. Just like the smoky peat flavors of scotch, well, they ran out of wood. The Scots didn't LIKE burning moss, it's just what they had left after they chopped down enough trees to realize it was a bad idea. White sugar moonshine has a cotton candy taste to it, like a church parking lot carnival. It's good. There's some good shine out there.

Rum uses the leftovers of white sugar to make booze. Fortunately, there is a whole lot going on with the different esters in rum. There are definite notes of different fruits found all the way down to 40 proof, which would be the rum oils. In the run I did tonight, I could actually see the oil floating on top of the liquid as I pulled my last jar.

I would encourage all drunkards to go out and buy a still, learn how to make your own, and love it! I'm so glad I got back in the game. The best part of making my own rum is watching the quality improve batch after batch, as I learn to cut the output and run certain parts back through the process to intensify certain flavors and pull others back.

[zimne_piwo]

Also, do not sell, and do not tell anyone in meatspace about what you do. I've managed to keep my mouth shut for a decade, and I never sell. I make what I make for my own liquor cabinet, period. It's hard enough to keep myself stocked, let alone sell to anyone else.

[TheBigCasino]

I've been running a still for about ten years now, and I've made my share of moonshine. At first I went with white sugar and turbo yeast and wound up with something very much like Georgia Moon. No cuts, cheap and fast, total crap. After running that through my liver for a couple years I gave up on making crap and went back to buying Beam. A few years later I reapproached the craft with an eye for quality. I tried making a version of bourbon but it sucked. Then I found a really fucking good recipe for rum.

This is pretty damn good stuff. I didn't really LIKE whiskey all that much to begin with. As I read about the history of whiskey, it's essentially the story of making the best of a bad situation. Grain is cheap and it's all we have, so that's what we work with. Just like the smoky peat flavors of scotch, well, they ran out of wood. The Scots didn't LIKE burning moss, it's just what they had left after they chopped down enough trees to realize it was a bad idea. White sugar moonshine has a cotton candy taste to it, like a church parking lot carnival. It's good. There's some good shine out there.

Rum uses the leftovers of white sugar to make booze. Fortunately, there is a whole lot going on with the different esters in rum. There are definite notes of different fruits found all the way down to 40 proof, which would be the rum oils. In the run I did tonight, I could actually see the oil floating on top of the liquid as I pulled my last jar.

I would encourage all drunkards to go out and buy a still, learn how to make your own, and love it! I'm so glad I got back in the game. The best part of making my own rum is watching the quality improve batch after batch, as I learn to cut the output and run certain parts back through the process to intensify certain flavors and pull others back.

that's great, start a Rum thread then.

[TheBigCasino]

a fun trip back in time, and it oddly enough, fits into this White Dog thread..

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=64674